Blogs from Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia

For whatever reasons, I kept traveling during rainy season, not an ideal time for traveling in a tropical country like Indonesia. Delayed for a couple of hours, our flight arrived in Gunung Sitoli in the afternoon. Until a few years ago, the only mode of transport reaching the island was by ferry from Sibolga. Nias is an island on the East of North Sumatera, famous for its waves and swell among surfers as well as its unique culture. To reach Nias, we had to fly from Jakarta to Medan and to take a connecting flight to Binaka Airport at Gunung Sitoli, its capital. Despite its proximity to North Sumatera, Nias has its own dialect and culture. It's hard to imagine that ancestors of Nias people were originally from Taiwan thousand years ago, given the names of ... read more

Saturday, 7th March 2020 It was awesome to start the day with a swim at the hotel's infinity pool. From where I stood, the morning views of the city was unforgettable. At 8am, this was probably the best time of the day to be at the pool when the majority of the hotel guests were either asleep or having their breakfast. Since we had opted out from the hotel buffet, it was time to check out some breakfast options at Chinatown after the swim. Whether it was local porridge or chicken drumstick hor fun or char kuay teow, there were plenty of delicious options for us. Our gourmet journey continued to the local market where there were options for some kueh kuehs and keropok from one of the many colorful vendors around. Next, no visit to ... read more

When Indonesians talk about the size of their country, they always mention two names, Sabang and Merauke, the two extremities of the country. I was in Merauke last year, the eastern most point of Indonesia, and now I have been to Sabang, the western most point. In actual fact I haven't been to the uttermost ends of either of the two. There are monuments at both places, at Merauke it is on the border with Papua New Guinea, and I didn't go there. On Pulau Weh, of which Sabang is the main town, it is on the western most cape, and I didn't go there either. But I would say I have been close enough to both. Let's say I have been to the uttermost ends of Indonesia, give or take 50 kilometers. I think that's ... read more

After Pagar Alam, I ended up city hopping a bit around Sumatra, three towns, each with its own tale and flavour. I had different reasons for visiting each one of them. The first one up was Palembang. Now Palembang isn't really on anybody's bucket list, there isn't much to see or do there. It is a big city, clogged with the usual traffic and struggling with the resultant pollution. Just like any other big town in these regions. That said, I didn't find Palembang that bad. It has a nice river front scene, and a friendly population. The reason for visiting Palembang was to see the city my father once worked and lived in. A long time ago, when I was still a student. I never visited, my mum did. And so I was curious to ... read more

Od tejto casti indonezie som mal velke ocakavania, ktore sa vsak nenaplnili. Ludia boli zvacsa dopohody, doprava totalne bezproblemova avsak moje destinacie boli kurevsky daleko od seba, jedlo fajn. Turistov som moc veru nestretol, vynimku tvori ostrov weh. Mrzi, ze som nevidel orangutanov, kvoli ktorym som sem vlastne siel avsak spat v dzungli pod stanom ma veru nelakalo. Potapanie priemerne, ziadne micro a velke ryby. Len klasicke ako vsade inde, potesili akurat chobotnice. No a nepotesila moja prva skusenost a dufam, ze i posledna so stratou vedomia pod vodou. Nastastie som vedomie nestratil. Tuto cast indonezie veru navstivit uz neplanujem, max tak behnut este raz na orangutanov ale nie do ketambe. Mozno juh je ok ale tazko povedat a este odporucany ostrov palambak. No a opat ma v rozlete zabrzdili zdravotne problemy. Po zbaveny sa infekcie, ... read more